Kyiv
—
Russia attacked Ukraine with a hypersonic Oleshnik missile on Thursday night, a rare use of one of its most advanced weapons in the latest onslaught targeting the country in sub-zero temperatures.
“The Russian Armed Forces launched a large-scale attack with high-precision long-range land-based and sea-based weapons, including the Oreshnik mobile medium-range land-based missile system,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Friday.
The Oleshnik, which means “hazelnut tree” in Russian, is one of Russia’s newest weapons, traveling at 10 times the speed of sound and having a range that can reach all of Europe, the commander of Russia’s missile forces said.
Missiles can carry multiple warheads and can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads. Although the weapon was not fully developed at the time, Moscow used it for the first time in November 2024, attacking the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
Last month, Russia released footage purporting to show the Oleshnik missile system being deployed to close ally Belarus.
Russia announced it had launched an attack last month in response to an alleged attempt by Ukraine to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin’s home. The claims come amid intensive talks led by US President Donald Trump and his special envoy to end the war in Ukraine.
The CIA assessed that Ukraine did not target Putin’s residence, U.S. officials said.
The Oleshnik attack came hours after the United States seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday, as Moscow reiterated that European forces deployed to Ukraine as part of a future peace deal are considered “legitimate targets.”
Authorities in the western city of Lviv reported multiple explosions and ballistic missile attacks on critical infrastructure facilities.
A statement from Ukraine’s Western Air Force Command said the missile was “moving along a ballistic trajectory at a speed of approximately 13,000 kilometers per hour.” It added that the type of missile will be determined after inspection of the parts.
13,000 kilometers per hour is about 10 times the speed of sound.
In Kiev, a CNN reporter said the attack began around midnight and began with multiple drone strikes against residential buildings.
As the street lights flickered on, much of the city was plunged into darkness, thick fog hung over the streets and temperatures plummeted to -5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit).
The city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said four people were killed, 10 injured and “critical infrastructure” was damaged.
“There is no information” about casualties after the missile attack on Lviv, Mayor Andriy Sadovy wrote on Telegram. “Private facilities and residences in the city have not been affected,” he said.
Russia has been attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent weeks with drones and missiles, a tactic used earlier in the winter. The strike left tens of thousands of people without power or heat across the country as winter temperatures turned freezing. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the purpose of these attacks was “to cause chaos and put psychological pressure on the population.”
The report came hours after the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine announced it had “received information regarding a significant airstrike that could occur at any time in the coming days.”
The attack also came Thursday, days after France and Britain pledged to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, and as Russia further reinforced its long-standing position declaring Western forces in Ukraine “legitimate targets.” Russia has long opposed the presence of Western troops in Ukraine.
Then on Wednesday, the U.S. military boarded and captured a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean after weeks of pursuit on the high seas. This has increased tensions with Moscow and put further pressure on ally Venezuela.
Russia condemned the seizure, with its Transport Ministry saying that under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which the United States is not a signatory, “no state has the right to use force against a properly registered vessel within the jurisdiction of another state.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet commented on developments regarding tankers previously sanctioned by the United States for transporting illicit Iranian oil.
